The Reece Museum Exhibition Publications

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Introduction

Local Art in the Age of the 2020 Global Pandemic is an exhibition of forty works of art that were made in 2019-2020 by artists living or working in Tennessee’s First Congressional District during the early days of the pandemic experience. This special collection provides an emotive snapshot of artistic expression during the age of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and is part of the permanent collection of the Reece Museum at East Tennessee State University.

Gov. Bill Lee’s “Safer at Home” order was issued on March 30, 2020. Almost overnight, our daily lives became unrecognizable as routines, social interactions, and any sense of normalcy were lost to isolation and a forced stillness that resulted in deep introspection for many of us. The months that followed were full of uncertainty as we mourned connections that suddenly felt fragile and adapted to major changes in our material circumstances. Reece staff quickly developed a work-from-home protocol during this most unusual time and Randy Sanders (former director), Spenser Brenner (exhibition coordinator) and I stayed in close contact. Randy called almost daily, and we’d have long talks about everything and nothing, since it felt like nothing was really going on. In one of those conversations I mentioned to him that I had bought a couple of pieces of “pandemic art” from friends who were raising money for a good cause, or who needed to sell some work because their usual markets had closed as a result of the “Safer at Home” order. As we discussed the merits of documenting world events through artistic expression, the potential for a project of this nature at the museum level became clear.

The news in our community felt dire at that time. People were losing their livelihoods, hospitals were operating at capacity, and it became necessary to come to terms with loss on what felt like an epic scale. Reece staff wanted to do something that would benefit those around us, and became inspired by the idea that we could build an art collection to document and preserve an important moment in our history. This allowed us to support local artists and invest directly into the community that we serve while creating a sense of purpose that helped us maintain our own motivation and mental well-being as we grappled with the gift of time and spaciousness in our working lives. As we began to develop the Local Art in the Age of the 2020 Global Pandemic initiative, community members and local organizations contributed through funding and advertising until it felt like a very large group effort. By the time we closed the submission period on July 20, we had received one hundred and six applications for artworks to be considered.

During times when the future feels uncertain, it can be tempting to think that art is expendable -- that we need to focus on our physical care and safety above all else. The pandemic experience has made it clear that our mental and spiritual health is equally as important, and that cultivating beauty through artistic expressions that resonate with our collective experience is a vital part of our well-being. As this collection demonstrates, the arts have the power to shift our thoughts and feelings in a positive direction, providing a process that moves difficult emotions outside of our bodies and into a more public sphere, allowing them to be seen, felt, and integrated in a very healing experience.

This collection represents the connectivity that we so deeply missed in 2020. It records the indescribable for posterity and reminds us all that, despite our physical isolation, we have remained a community that shares deep roots. Although each of these works were created by a different artist, there are distinct themes, stylistic motifs, and colors found throughout the collection, showing an attunement that makes them feel cohesive as a whole. A similar sense of connectivity is found when reading the included narratives provided by each artist. When submitting work, artists were asked to explain how the pandemic affected their lives and art, and how the submitted artwork relates to the pandemic and that specific moment in time overall. The narratives and images that were submitted by the forty artists featured in this exhibition are included in this catalog, and provide a fascinating collection of firsthand accounts to those who will study our lived experiences in the future.

Rebecca Proffitt

Interim Director - Reece Museum

Start Date

4-4-2022

End Date

9-30-2022

Table of Contents

  • 1: Kailyn Beitzel
  • 1: Sam Boven
  • 2: Laken Bridges
  • 2: Danielle Byington
  • 3: Joel Carillet
  • 3: Teresa Crowe
  • 4: Mary de Wit
  • 4: Cristy Dunn
  • 5: Richard Dunn
  • 5: Joan Elliott
  • 6: Jason Flack
  • 6: Brian Fletcher
  • 7: Ron Fondaw
  • 7: Lyn Govette
  • 8: Mike Helbing
  • 8: John Hilton
  • 9: Beverly Thomas Jenkins
  • 9: Storm Ketron
  • 10: Val Lyle
  • 10: Gregory Marlow
  • 11: Jocelyn Mathewes
  • 11: Joy Messimer
  • 12: Shannon Mettler
  • 12: Katie Murphy
  • 13: Mary Nees
  • 13: Emily Parris
  • 14: Charles Peters
  • 14: Marie Porterfield
  • 15: Rick Ramsey
  • 15: James Rathschmidt
  • 16: Mark Ray
  • 16: Anne Reid
  • 17: Garry Renfro
  • 17: Jonathan Reynolds
  • 18: Thomas Root
  • 18: Mike Rose
  • 19: Martha Rubenstein
  • 19: Debra Savell Stewart
  • 20: Christy Ward
  • 20: Lauren Whipple

Reece Museum Staff

Randy Sanders (Former Director); Rebecca Proffitt (Interim Director and Collections Manager); Spenser Brenner (Exhibition Coordinator).

The Reece Museum Presents: Local Art in the Age of the 2020 Global Pandemic

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